FOR SALE BY OWNER ? KICK OFF YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN WITH AN OPEN HOUSE!
 
After preparing your home for showing, kick off your campaign with an open house and make sure all the neighbors for several blocks around know that your home is for sale.
You might get lucky and find a buyer. Why? Because over 50% of homes are bought by friends and relatives of people who already live or work in the neighborhood.

(80% of homes are bought by people who live or work in the county or in surrounding counties, but the open house is targeted at the immediate neighborhood.)

Make sure everyone who attends the open house leaves with a flyer that lists your price and describes the property.

Hold your Open House on a Sunday or Saturday afternoon. Sundays are better and 1 - 5 PM is the best time. Check the calendar to make sure your Open House is not competing with Football Playoffs, the World Series, college basketball's Final Four, or major religious observances.

Be sure to have:

  • A guest book: get the name and address of everyone who attends. Make notes, jot down positive impressions and comments and make sure you can get back to people who show interest. This becomes especially important if you lower your price or change terms later on.
  • Blank sales contracts in case someone wants to buy your home. Real estate sales contracts can be purchased at Office Depot, Staples and other major office supply stores. ( Keep in mind that these contracts are the bare-bones of the real estate business and do not include all the necessary disclosures that your state recommends protecting you from any lawsuits that you may encounter down the road. (You may want to look to a local realtor for advise).
  • Fliers (8-l/2"x11") Fact-sheets describing your home, listing your price and how to reach you. Every guest should leave with an 8 1/2 x 11 inch real estate flyer. If you have a web page advertisement with pictures of your home, make sure your flyers feature the web address. Your flyer and Internet photo tour lets Buyers "revisit" your house and gives you and edge over other homes they might have visited.
Advertise in the real estate section of your local paper,

But make a special effort to tell the neighborhood. Neighbors are the best promoters of living in the area, and some of their friends are possible buyers. Put flyers on doorknobs for blocks around.

  • Attach open-house announcement flyers to a hundred neighborhood mail boxes.
  • Stick announcement flyers under windshield wipers of a hundred cars in the supermarket parking lot.
  • Put up an Open House sign in your front yard.
  • Attach balloons to draw special attention to your yard sale.
  • If you are on an extra-quiet street, place directional signs at intersections leading in from the main streets
Don't go overboard with the refreshments.

Cookies and punch are fine. Freshly baked cookies or bread is a good improvement - the aroma fills the house and creates a wonderful atmosphere.
Guest Book:

A simple, spiral notebook will do just fine. Place a heading on the first few pages: NAME, ADDRESS, E-MAIL. Use back pages to scribble impressions and positive comments. .

Show time:

Anyone can show his or her home, but if you are truly reclusive, hire a gregarious relative or friend to help host your Open House.

Innocent Questions:

Slip these into the conversation while showing the house:

  • "Are you planning on buying within the next two or three months ?"
  • "Have you applied for a mortgage ?"

Enter into your guest book the names of anyone planning to buy soon, or who show an interest in your home. If they have not applied for a mortgage suggest a mortgage broker. Explain that they will need a mortgage commitment if they find a house they love and want to move fast.